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T. K. NORTH.

BREECH LOADING OBDNANCE.

APPLICATION man Dsc. 24. 19H.

Patented D'eo. 30, 1919.

T. K. Nom. BREECHLQADING ORDNANCE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC|v24| i917.

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M14# mi JMW, @y am! Jam, maw-L 55M 'UNITED STATES Ilm-:NT OFFICE.

THOMAS KEPPEL NORTH, OF CRAYFORD, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR TO VICKERS LIMITED,

' OF WESTMINSTER, LONDON, ENGLAND.

Application filed December 24, 1917.

fl 10 all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, THoMAs KEPPEL NORTH, a subject of the King of Great Brit'- ain, residing at Grayford, in the county of Kent, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in or Relating to Breech-Loading Ordnance, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to ordnance breech mechanism of the -carrier type in which the breech block is arranged outside` the breech end of the gun barrel instead of within it as is usual and turns about the axis of the barrel in locking and unlocking it to and from the barrel. The invention is particularly although not exclusively applicable to ordnance intended for firing incendiary shells or so called rockets. i

According to the invention the externally arranged breech block has a rearwardly eX- tending axial stem rotatably mounted in the carrier and operated by the breech actuating hand lever through a non-rotary member sldablyfcarried by the stem and vconnected thereto by one or more inclined or spiral grooves and keys. The said member, which is preferably inthe form of a sleeve mounted on the stem, may be prevented from moving angularly about the axis of the breech block,

by the breech actuating hand lever.v The` aforesaid axial stem may be made hollow to receive a spring controlled-striker carrying a transversely movable sear piece or plate which bears against a projection on the stem to hold the striker in the cocked position but which, when displaced by the firing mechanism to fire the gun, assumes a position to liberate the striker. The. said plate is caused to move angularly with the breech vblock during the locking and unlocking displacements of the latter and is so arranged in relation to the member of the firing mechanism that serves to displace itto the firing position, that this member cannot actuate the plate unless'the breech block is fully locked. The said member is preferably in the form of a firing lever pivoted to a part recoiling with the gun barrel and is operated to fire the gun by a firing rod carried by a non-recoiling part. This arrangement of the iring lever on a recoiling part and the firing rod on a non-recoiling part facilitates the operation of the gun in that the firing rod, which is the part that is operated-by the gunner to lire the gun, does not partake of Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 30, 1919.

Serial No. 208,706.

the recoil and forward movements of the barrel. The said rod is so'constructed and arranged that in the event of the barrel recoiling slightly as a result of a blow or jar, the tiring lever (which moves with the barrel) will not be actuated to release the striker.

In order that the said invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into elfect, I will describe the same more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which 1 Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 are respectively a side elevation, a front elevation, a rear elevation (with the'rear sight removed), a plan and a vertical longitudinal section of a gun provided with a constructional form of my improvements. In Fig. 1 the firing mechanism is shown in the fired position but in Figs. -l and 5 it is shown in the cocked position.

Fig. 6 is a horizontal section through the axis of the gun barrel showing the breech block carrier in the open position.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged view of the main parts of Fig. 6.

Figs. 8 and 9 are enlarged views of parts of Fig. 5, and

Fig. 10 is JJan enlarged View of part of Fig. 3.

A is the gun barrel which in the example shown has connected thereto two guide members a, a2 disposed around or within guide tubes A', A2 attached to a trunnion block a3 which is trunnioned in the crosshead or carriage A3 of the mounting. B is the breech block which has a forwardly extending cylindrical flange Z) formed with interrupted internal collars of buttress formation which engage with corresponding collars on the outer surface of the breech end of the gun Ibarrel. .B is the aforesaid rearwardly extending axial stem of the breech block, this stem being disposed in a collar c forming part of the carrier C which is connected by a vertical pivot pin C to lugs a", a. on the rear one a2 of the aforesaid guide members.

The means for operating the breech block comprise a sliding sleeve D mounted upon the aforesaid stem B of the breech block a-nd connected thereto by one or more inclined or spiral groovesy and keys. The sleeve is prevented from( moving angula'rly about the axis of the breech block,so that when the sleeve is displaced along the stem,

angular locking and unlocking movement will be imparted to the breech block. To effect the said displacementV of the sleeve, I employ an operating hand lever D connected by a vertical pivot (Z to the carrier C and arranged transversely to the axis of the gun barrel when the breech block is in its locked condition. This hand lever engages with the sleeve D, angular movement of the hand lever thereby imparting aXial movement to the sleeve to effect the angular locking and unlocking displacements of the breech block. The said hand lever may have a spherically shaped handle and may be composed of ltwo plates coupled to'jether by suitable distance pieces d, l these plates being disposed in contact with flat surfaces one on the top and the other at the bottom of the'sleeve (see Figs. 3 and 10) and engaging with collars thereon. The engagement of theplates with the said fiat surfaces prevents angular movement of the sleeve from occurring with respect to the gun barrel.

rlhe carrier C' is provided with a breech block retaining catch comprising a spring controlled plunger E which, when the breech block assumes its unlocked position, enters a hole in the breech block (see Figs. 6 and 7 and thereby prevents the latter from moving angularly about its axis when the carrier, by continued movement of the hand lever, is swung aside to enable the gun to be loaded. The breech block carries a second plunger e which` when the breech block has become unlocked, bears against the inner end of the plunger E on `the carrier and which, as the carrier is completing its closingmovement, comes against the breech face and thereby disengages the plunger E from Vits hole in the breech block which is then free to be locked to the gun barrel.

An extractor F in the form of a bell crank lever is mounted upon the pivot pin C of the carrier; the rear arm of the eX- tractor lies transversely to the axis of the gun barrel (see Figs. G and 7;) and is disposed in a groove inthe Abreech face and the forward arm lies longitudinally with respect to the barrel and is formed with a shoulder f against vhich the carrier bears, when the latter is approaching its fully swung out position, to actuate the extractor. Between thesaid longitudinal arm and the gun barrel a spring f is interposed.-

G is the striker and G is the striker spring both these parts being disposed i-n the hollow stem B of the breech block. The spring is held in position by a screw threaded plug or nut g through which the, striker stem passes. G2 is the aforesaid transversely movable sear plate which is slidably mounted in a cocking piece g de tachably connected to the rear part of the striker stem and which, when the striker is in the cocked position, bea-rs against a rearwardly extending arm g2 on the plug 'or nut g. rlhis cocking piece has curved fins or lateral projections g, gx which fit in grooves in the stem of the breech block and the sear plate is formed with an aperture g3 which, when the plate is displaced upward against the resistance of its spring,

registers with the said rearwardly eXtending arm g2 to enable the striker to be im-v aforesaid firing lever for displacing the scar plate G2 and K is the firing rod which has a tapered or conical end 7c for actuating this lever. The said tiring lever is spring controllcd and is pivoted to a sleeve a2* carried by the rear one (t2 of the aforesaid guide members connected to the gun barrel and is provided with a roller L adapted to come into contact with the lower face of the scar plate G2, the cocking piece g being formed with a slot gx (Figs. 9 and 10) only slightly wider than the roller, to enable tiring mo\'e ment 'of the roller to occur. lVhen the breech block is in any but its fully locked position, the sear plate will be out of the path of the roller, and in consequence the firing lever H cannot be actuated to fire the gun as the roller zy at such time lies contiguous to the lower surface of the cocking piece on one side or the other of the slot therein. The rod K has a thumb piece 7c situated between handle grips A, A attached to the rear one A2 of the aforesaid guide tubes carried by the trunnion block as and its forward part is guided b v part of the aforesaid sleeve (W. The tapered or conical end of the said rod bears against a second roller /L on th-e firing lever ll so that forward movement of the rod will actuate the firing lever to release the striker as aforesaid. In order to prevent the striker from being released in the event of any blow or jar effecting a slight recoil movement of the gun and thereby causing the said second roller L to run up the tapered or conical end of the rod K, the latter is formed with a longitudinal safety groove K in which the roller runs without actuating thefring lever if such slight recoil should occur. The provision of this safety groove renders it necessary to bring` the grooveout of line with the roller to effect the releasel of the striker and for this purpose the rear end of the rod K is formed with a spiral groove K2 with which engages a screw or stud K2y (Fig. 8) on a fixed part; in this manner the from occurring when the said catch occu-4 pies its safety position.

The safety catch L is pivoted on a pin Z and is forced down toward the thumb-piece lo by the 'action of the helical spring Kx (Fig. 8) surrounding the rod K actingv through a swinging block m pivoted on a pin n. This block bears against an extension or pin mX projecting from the front surface of the catch above the pin Z, lso that the pressure of the spring Kx (which bears at its forward end against this block and at its rear end against the front part of the thumbpiece c) tends to hold the catch L in the position shown by Fig. 8 in which the rearward portion of the catch engages with a shoulder on the thumb piece c.v The safety catch L has one or more extensions Z (Figs. 1 and 4) arranged adjacent to the handle grips A2", A2* so that when these grips 'are gripped by the gunner the forefingers of the hands come into contact with the projections Z, thereby raising the catch L out of engagement with the shoulder on the thumb piece c.

The rear sight M is mounted on the lhandle block and the front sight M on the forward one a of the aforesaid guide members connected to the barrel.

The forward guide tube Af connected to the trunnion block a3 constitutes a hydraulic brake cylinder in which is disposed a piston A4 whose rod is connected to the rear guide member a2. The rear portion of this piston rod is formed with an axial hole a* to accommodate the aforesaid rod K when the gun barrel recoils. A barrel return spring A5 is arranged around the front guide ltube A and bears at its front end against the forward guide member a and at its rear end against the trunnion block a3. The said forward guide tube A also 'carries a small ram a5 which, as the gun barrel approaches its forward or firing position after recoil, enters an axial hole a6 in the forward part of the piston rod to bring the gun barrel gently to 'rest by the displacement of lthe liquid from this hole through the restricted annular opening between the ram and the wall of the said hole.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is l. In ordnance breech mechanism, the combination with the gun barrel, the breech block arranged outside the breech end thereof, the carrier in which said block is mounted and the hand lever for operating the breech mechanism, of a rearwardly extending axial stem on the breech block, said stem being rotatably mounted in the carrier, a non-rotary member slidablyl carried by said stem, means whereby actiation of the hand lever imparts longitudinal movement to said member and means between this memberJ and the stem for causing the longitudinal movement of said member to impart angular movement to the breech block about its axis.

2. In ordnance 'breech mechanism, the combination with the gun barrel, the breech block arranged outside the breech end thereof, the carrier in which said block is mounted and the hand lever for operating the breech mechanism, of a rearwardly ex-l tending axial stem on the breech block. said stem being rotatably -.mounted in the carrier, a non-rotary member slidably carri'ed by said stem, means whereby actuation of the hand lever imparts longitudinal movement to said member and an inclined or spiral groove and a key between this member and the stem for causing the longitudinalgmovementof said member to impart anguiar movement to the breech block about its axis.

3. In ordnance breech mechanism, the combination with the gun barrel, the breech block arranged outside the breech end thereof, the carrier in which said block is mounted and the hand lever for `operating the breech mechanisul, of a rearwardly extending axial stem on the breech block, said stem being rotatably mounted in the carrier, a member slidably carried by said stem, means whereby the hand lever prevents this member from moving angularly about its axis, means whereby actuation of said hand lever imparts longitudinal movement to said member and means between this member 'and the stem for causing the longitudinal movement o-f said member to impart angular movement to the breech block about its axis. i

4:. In ordnance breech mechanism, the combination with the gun barrel, the breech block arranged outside the breech end thereof, the carrier in which said block is mounted and the hand lever for operating the breech mechanism, of a rearwardly extending axial stem on the breech block, said stem being rotatably mounted in the carrier, a member slidably carried by said stem, means whereby the hand lever prevents this member from moving angularly about its axis, means whereby actuation of said hand lever imparts longitudinal movement to said member and an inclined or spiral groove and a key between this member and the stem for causing the longitudinal movement of said member to impart angular movement to the breech block about its axis.

5. In ordnance firing mechanism the combination ivith the gun barrel, the breech f block arranged outside the breech end'thereof and the spring controlled striker carried -`by the breech block, of a transversely movable sear piece carried by said striker, a

projection on the breech block against whichl projection said sear piece bears to hold the striker in the cocked position and means .spring controlled striker, of a transversely movable sear-.piece carried by said striker, means vfor causlng this sear piece to move angularly with the breech block during lock` ing and unlocking displacements of the lat` ter, a projection on the breech block against which projection said sear piece bears to hold the striker in the cocked position, a member for moving the sear piecev out of Contact With the projection to release the striker for firing the gun, said member not moving angularly with the breech block, and means whereby unless the breech block is in its fully locked position, said member cannot operate the sear piece to release the striker.

7. In ordnance ring mechanism the com` bination with the gun barrel, the breech block and the spring controlled striker, of a sear piece carried by the striker, a part recoiling with the barrel, a firing member, mounted on said part, for operating said sear piece to release the striker, a part which does not recoil with the barrel and a firing rod, mounted on the last stated part, tor operating the firing member.

8. In'ordnance ring mechanism the combination with the gun barre-l, the breech block and the spring controlled striker, of a sear piece carried by the striker, a part recoiling with the barrel, a firing member, mounted on said part, for operating said sear piece to release the striker, al part which does not recoil with the barrel, a firing rod, mounted on the last stated part, for operating the firing member and means whereby when .said rod is in its normal inoperative position, said firing member will not be operated thereby it the barrel moves rearward.

9. In ordnance firing mechanism the combination with the gun barrel, the breech block .and the spring controlled striker, of a sear piece carried by the striker, a part recoiling With the barrel, a firing member, mounted on said part, for operating said sear piece to release the striker, a part which does not recoil With the barrel, a firing rod. mounted onv the last stated part, for operating the tiring member, a projection on said firing member against which said rod can bear when the latter is actuated, a longitu` dinal groove in said rod, which groove lies inline withv said projection when the rod is in its normal inoperative position, and means whereby, when said rod is actuated to fire the gun, it is turned to bring the'groovc therein out of line with said projection.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature.

THOMAS KEPPEL NORTH. 

